How To Create A User Guide Template

Step i Getting General Knowledge on the User Manual Template

Before actually using the User Manual Template and the other tools that I developed for Philip, I wanted to brand certain we have the same starting point. I provided him with some general information almost user instructions and with some skilful examples of existing user manuals.

I take listed this information below.

What is the definition of a user transmission?

A user manual is a technical communication document intended to give help to people on how to apply a product. A proficient user manual assists users on how to use a production safely, healthily and effectively.

Other names, or other forms of a user manual, might be:

User guide
Technical documentation
Instruction transmission
Operational transmission
Training transmission
Quick Outset Guide
Installation transmission
Maintenance manual
Software transmission

Besides the primary goal of a user transmission (to assist a user), secondary goals could exist creating a meliorate user experience and meeting legal requirements.

A user manual consists of textual visual information (illustrations, screenshots, tables etc.) to help the user in completing specific tasks.

The user plays the central office when drawing up a user transmission. A well-drafted user manual only provides that information that is relevant for the intended user of the production.

The user manual should contain both procedural information (step-past-footstep instructions) and conceptual information (data the user needs in order to sympathise procedural information).

A good user manual is concise and uses jargon-gratis language. A good user transmission should respond HOW and WHAT questions. They should contain information about what happens if a chore is not washed correctly.

In some cases, a product is intended to exist used by different types of users. Typical user types are the end-user, installer, maintenance engineer and operator. Each user blazon needs a different arroyo in terms of language to be used, the tone of vox and provided conceptual information.

What information should be in a user manual?

Unlike kind of products need a user manual. A product can be a system, tool, device, an instrument, a piece of software or an app. Depending on the type of product, a user transmission might include things every bit:

Product name
Model or type number
Intended use
Features/accessories
Description of the principal production elements
Description of the user interface
Safety warnings
Installation instructions
Description of how to utilize/operate the product
Troubleshooting department and instructions on how to solve problems
Maintenance information
Repair information
Information on disposal of the product and packaging
Technical specifications
Table of content
Alphabetize
Glossary
Warranty information
Contact details

Using a user manual template

The chief tool that I developed in order to aid Philip depict up his user manual is a User Manual Template. The template contains all the data and more from the list higher up. It complies with the requirements for his product.

The User Manual Template tin exist used for creating your transmission for your system, tool, device, instrument, or for creating an installation manual, software manual, operational manual, maintenance transmission or preparation manual.

Based on the showtime template for Philip, we have developed templates for the following product groups:

Medical Devices
Toys
Machinery
Electronics

What formats does a user manual have?

User manuals can exist provided in either a paper format or as an electronic certificate (PDF or placed online or on-device in HTML). The user transmission template is an MS Word document that tin exist printed or placed online.

User manuals can be created using a variety of tools. Each tool has its own advantages and disadvantages. I will mention the almost common tools beneath:

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Word	Easy to learn User manual template tin can exist set up easily	Less suitable for large documents No reuse of content possible
Indesign	High degree of pattern liberty	Content changes may require many extra DTP hours
CMS (technical authoring & publishing solutions)	Reuse of content All in one solution Omni-platform publications Contains default user manual templates	High learning curve

User manual examples

While drafting a user manual with assistance of the User Transmission Template, it can be handy to take some practiced examples. Through the following links you lot can download a user manual sample for documentation:

IKEA installation instructions
Jura user manual

Step ii Identify the User(southward) of Your User Manual Template

Ok, so now Philip has some basic knowledge virtually user manuals. Let's dive into the details and actions.

When you lot want to write a manual that helps your user to solve problems, you first demand to define who your user is. This tin can be washed by creating a user profile, too named a persona.

With a persona, you make some reasonable assumptions nigh the characteristics of your user. This is not simply useful for creating your user instructions, simply it is an essential element at the starting time of the development of any production! As an educated industrial design engineer, this is how we started all our design assignments.

When checking the ISOVOX website, I didn't even find a articulate clarification of their intended users. That's why I asked Philip to define his users and respond questions like:

Who is the user of your product?
Is the product used professionally or mainly privately?
What other technical experiences exercise they accept? What describes the user?

I take created a template that contains the questions. I asked Philip to fill up out the template.

You can use the template yourself to decide who your user is. Please annotation that the second tab likewise contains Philip'southward answers, and so y'all accept an example of how the sheet could be used.

Action: Use the template to describe your user(s).

I am a HUGE fan of visualizing things. So if you want to take defining your user i stride farther, I would suggest y'all visualise your user in the form of a persona. When creating a persona yous are giving your user a name, historic period et cetera, and then information technology becomes a real person that represents your user.

I did this for Philip. This is the result:

persona users of user manual

Activeness: Create a visualization of your user

If you lot want to know more about defining your audience and creating personas:

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/persona/
https://world wide web.smashingmagazine.com/2014/08/a-closer-expect-at-personas-office-i/
https://www.prismnet.com/~hcexres/textbook/aud.html

Footstep 3 Creating Topics for Your User'southward Issues

Start with identifying the bug that your user(s) might encounter during the lifecycle of the product and that south/he wants to solve. Typical issues might include: installing the production, using the product, using the production safely, maintaining the production and disposing of the product.

If the problem is too complex, you could break it down into chunks.

I asked Philip to place the bug and solutions that his user might encounter during the product lifecycle. In lodge to exercise then, I created another template for Philip. In the left column of the Lifecycle tab, the stages of a product'due south lifecycle are mentioned. These are derived from the international standard for user instructions, the IEC/IEEE 82079. Our user manual templates are compliant with this standard.

On the Lifecycle [ISOVOX] tab you see how Philip adjusted the lifecycle to his own product.

Action: Use this template and the instructions on the get-go tab to identify the problems your user might have during the lifecycle of your product and present their solutions.

If yous want to know more nigh defining your user'southward bug and creating topics:

Topic-based authoring
Minimalism
Data mapping
Chunking

quote steve jobs users

Step 4 Define the Structure of the User Manual Template

Philip has now identified the problems a user might have with his product during its lifecycle and he has at present idea of the solution to solve the problem. In other words: Philip has defined the topics for his user manual. Each topic tin can simply be about ane specific subject, has an identifiable purpose, and must be able to stand alone.

A topic should give the reply to only one user's question. A user wants to solve one problem at a time. When a user has solved the problem, he/she volition become and solve the next problem.

A topic volition become a department in the user manual. It can exist a chapter or a (sub-)paragraph. As soon as a user is looking for an respond to his trouble, he volition use the table of contents to discover out how to navigate to that reply.

I asked Philip to structure the topics and define their identify in the user transmission, by assigning a certain topic to a specific chapter or (sub-)paragraph. The consequence can be seen on the ToC [ISOVOX] tab.

Action: To define the structure of your user manual:

Copy the content from the Lifecycle [product name] tab to the ToC [production name] tab.
On the ToC [product proper noun] tab, replace product name with your own product proper name.
Add a column to the left. Name it 'Department'.
If applicative, organize your sections logically.
Determine what topics will get capacity by adding chapter numbers. Get-go numbering Grooming PRODUCT FOR USE with number 4. We will add some more chapters in the next step.
Make up one's mind what topics volition become paragraphs by adding the department numbers.
Determine what topics will get sub-paragraphs by adding the subsection numbers.

You have now created the Tabular array of Contents (ToC). The ToC is the outline of your user manual. Later nosotros volition add some more topics/sections, like the Introduction, Safety Information etc., so don't worry virtually calculation that now.

Step 5 Create Meaningful Headings

Each topic in the user manual gets its ain heading. The headings are the (sub-)titles that precede the actual text. They announced in the ToC, and so the user can navigate to the needed data.

Then, Philip has just created the (sub-)titles for his topics.

Because the ToC entries play such an important role in helping your user find their way, and to help them skip what is NOT important, they need a bit more attention.

Basically, you should try and piece of work with three levels of headings: first-, second- and 3rd-level headings.

The first-level heading describes what the entire chapter or department is virtually (e.yard. INSTALLATION OF THE PRODUCT). The second-level headings should apply the 'how what' style of phrasing (e.g. How to Assemble the Product and How to Do the Electrical Installation). A 3rd-level heading uses noun-phrases (e.g. Packaging contents and Tools to be used).

I asked Philip to redirect his headings and to take observe of the following full general guidelines:

Employ the structure as shown above for the showtime, second and 3rd level heading.
Make sure the headings are self-explanatory. The heading Making Pancakes is much more user-oriented than Using the MagicCook5000.
Make sure that the heading covers the full topic. If the section covers the maintenance and repair of a product, the heading Maintenance would be incomplete.
If possible, try to omit articles at the beginning of headings

Action: Write new headings for your ToC entries.

Philips'southward ToC with meaningful headings can be plant on the ToC w. Meaningful Headings tab.

Footstep vi Determine the Legal Content

Dependent on the marketplace where your product is placed in or put into service, and dependent on the product grouping your product belongs to, specific legislation applies to your product.

In full general, the legislation requires that your product is 'safe' and therefore gives general prophylactic requirements your product should meet.

These requirements also include requirements on the content of your user manual and safety instructions.

In order to sell your product in a specific market place, yous should make sure that your user transmission complies with these requirements.

These two articles below will tell y'all how y'all can find out exactly which legislation applies to your product for the European and U.S. marketplace and what the requirements are for your user manual. Pro tip: when there is a Declaration of Conformity bachelor already, you can find the applicative directives in in that location.

How to Create Compliant Manuals for the Eu
How to Create Compliant Manuals for the US

Philip didn't need to conduct these steps, every bit the template he used already contained the legal content as required past the relevant directives.

For his product, it means that the post-obit data is required for the user transmission for his product:

EU (relevant CE marking directives: LVD, EMC, RoHS, WEEE, REACH):

The user transmission should be translated to the language(s) of the country where the product is sold.
The user manual should draw the intended use of the product.
The user transmission should describe the reasonably foreseen unintended use of the product.
If applicable, non-compliance in residential areas should be mentioned.
The blazon, batch or series number or other element allowing the product's identification should be mentioned on the product. If the production is likewise small this can be placed in the user manual.
The proper name, registered trade proper name or registered trademark and the postal address should exist mentioned on the product. If the product is too modest this tin be placed in the user manual.
A risk analysis should exist conducted to determine the residue risks related to the utilise of the product. Safety information shall exist provided in order to inform the user of measures to exist taken.
WEEE data shall be included
Information on packaging waste shall be included.

Too this legislation, at that place also is an international standard for user manuals, the IEC/IEEE 82079-1:2019. This standard has been harmonised in the EU. Compliance with harmonised standards provides a presumption of conformity with the corresponding legislation!

The user transmission template complies with this standard.

I have also created an IEC 82079 checklist that tin can be used to double cheque that your user manual complies with this standard.

In club to create an internationally compliant user manual, you should ever brand sure your manual meets the Eu, Usa and 80279 requirements.

Activity: To make up one's mind the legal requirements on your user manual:

Follow steps 1-2 from the EU compliance and/or steps one-six from the US compliance articles to determine the legal framework for your instructions.
Report the IEC 82079 checklist to ensure your manual complies with the 82079 standard.

In this video I explicate how you tin can create a transmission that complies with the 82079 standard:

TO THE STORE

Step 7 Download and Prepare the User Manual Template

Now Philip tin start the actual creation of his user manual.

I asked him to conform the table of contents of the template co-ordinate to his own table of contents. Without removing and mandatory elements of course...

Do you recollect from step 4 that I asked to start the numbering of the sections with chapter 4? Once yous download the user transmission template doc yourself, you will come across that a few standard chapters have been added, besides as some appendices.

Action: To accommodate the user manual template:

If you lot want to work with the free template:

Download the free user manual template Give-and-take 2013 or 2007
Change the department headings according to your own ToC. Detect! Do not adjust the Table of Contents. The tabular array of contents can be updated automatically once you have adjusted the section headings.
Add together the mandatory content as determined in step 6 of your transmission.
If applicative, modify sections 1-3 and the appendices co-ordinate to your own needs.

Or use one of our paid templates that contain all mandatory content, like Philip did:

Medical Devices EU
Medical Devices U.s.a.
Machinery European union
Machinery US
Electronics EU
Toys EU

Step 8 Create the Content for Your User Manual Template

Write the Intended Use

The purpose of your product, or better: the intended use, is the heart of a user transmission and forms the basis of ensuring the safe and salubrious use of the production.

The way the intended use is described likewise determines your liability and affects the further contents of the user manual.

The almost legislation requires you to include a description of the intended use in the user instructions.

The international standard for user instructions, the IEC 82079-ane, provides the following definition for the intended use:

An exhaustive range of functions or foreseen applications defined and designed by the supplier of the production

Past describing the intended use you make up one's mind the safe envelope of the product. And in one case you take adamant the intended employ, you tin can focus on providing only those safety and user instructions for how to utilize the production within the given envelope.

Additionally, to the intended use, many more standards, directives and regulations likewise require yous to include a description of the reasonably foreseeable misuse.

For instance, the reasonably foreseeable misuse of an ambitious detergent could be the utilize of information technology in a food processing surroundings.

Paying besides little attention to describing the reasonably foreseeable misuse will touch on a visitor'south liability.

Product liability laws/regulation hold a manufacturer liable for a defective product. If the defectiveness of a production needs to be determined, all circumstances volition be taken into account. That includes the reasonably foreseeable employ of the production.

The description of the intended apply determines which instructions are given in the residual of the manual. For example, if a cooling system is but used for cooling certain medications, then only these procedures demand to exist described.

When it could reasonably exist foreseen that the cooling system may be used equally a system to cool organs, this should be described in the instructions. By doing so, you, every bit the manufacturer, volition limit your liability and you can focus on just describing how to use the organization to cool medicines.

Action: write the intended use and the reasonably foreseeable misuse of your product.

Intended Use
Figure i. Reasonably foreseeable misuse?

Write the safety warnings based on the adventure analysis

Fifty-fifty though the intended use has at present been conspicuously defined, this does not mean that using a product is completely without any risks.

To identify the hazards that come with the use of a product, you can deport a risk analysis. A risk analysis can also be mandatory for certain product groups, such as depression-voltage equipment, toys, machinery and equipment for apply in explosive atmospheres.

Standards, like the ISO 12100, have been developed on how to comport a risk analysis. The ISO 12100 as well gives a method for taking mitigation measures: the 3-Step Method. According to this method, there is the following hierarchy of risk-reducing measures:

Inherently safe blueprint measures
Safeguarding and complementary protective measures
Information for use

This ways that the user guide should warn of any balance risks related to the utilize of the product. This is done with safe warnings.

BUY NOW

A adept safety warning describes the nature of a hazardous situation, the consequences of not avoiding a chancy situation and the method(due south) for avoiding it.

To indicate the degree of hazard that may exist encountered by the user, the signal words "Danger", "Warning" and "Circumspection" should be used.

Have a expect at the following safety messages:

WARNING! Rotating parts. Hazard of serious injuries. Keep hands clear. Lockout/Tagout before servicing.

Then y'all want to warn the user where a hazardous state of affairs might be encountered. The ANSI Z535.half-dozen standard describes the post-obit locations in the user manual where this could be:

Grouped in a divide chapter.
In the first role of the specific section:

Embedded in a process:

ane. Do this.
2. Do that. WARNING! This is embedded safety messages. General text full general text general text.
3. Do this.

In the Preface whatsoever supplemental directives tin can be placed, such as Read all instructions earlier utilize or Go along these instructions for hereafter reference can exist placed in the introduction of a user manual.

In the European union, depending on the kind of product, information technology might be allowed to provide only the safe information in printed form and the rest of the information online.

In order to assistance Philip create and place a safety message, I have created another template.

Action: conduct a run a risk analysis and craft your safety messages using this template.

Create all other content

Now I asked Philip to create all other content, such as the procedures, technical specs and legal data.

I gave the post-obit tips:

Exclude unnecessary textile to avert data overload (for case sales promotion, extensive repetition etc).
Make sure terms are familiar to the user, technical features and terms are well explained and use terms consistently.
Describe any prerequisites that should be met before the actual instructions offset. This may as well be describing special tools or space for maintenance and repair.
Provide conceptual information when data is necessary for acceptable understanding and execution of tasks.
E'er write topic based.
Apply a bold typeface for all product elements.
Employ a way guide to aid you write and format documentation in a clearer way.
Indicate when y'all want to add an prototype for better understanding later.
Make sure words and phrases are not likewise complicated or over-sophisticated.
Employ simple/standardized and short phrases: one sentence-one command.
Don't put too much information into ane sentence.
Utilise the directly agile vocalisation and assertive commands.
Use words like nouns and verbs consistently to avoid ambivalence.
To write ameliorate instructions, use the Principles of Minimalism in Technical Communication and Simplified Technical English.

Action: create all other content for your user manual.

Again, for most product groups there are paid templates available which might make the work easier. These templates contain all legal texts, mandatory disposal information, copyright statements and comply with the IEC 82079 standard on user instructions.

Identify the safety warnings in the correct position

When using the template for crafting the safety letters, I asked Philip to signal whether a safety message is a supplemental directive, or should be placed every bit a grouped, section or embedded safety message.

Now all text has been created, the prophylactic messages tin can be placed in the right place.

Action: place all rubber letters in the correct location in the user manual.

Footstep 9 Add Navigation to Your User Transmission Template

A user transmission should give assistance to people past providing information about how to utilise a product. Finding the right information that solves the user'southward trouble should take as little time as possible.

The crafting of meaningful headings is one of the tools that aid users in finding information. Withal, there are several other tools to help the user finding the information he/she wants, such as:

Table of contents
Page numbering
Index

I asked Philip to update the table of contents and add together page numbering and an index.

Action: Add or update your table of contents, page numbering and alphabetize.

Step 10 Have Your User Manual Reviewed

Philip has at present created the draft version of his user manual, using the user manual template. Nosotros telephone call this version the textual content pattern.

Every bit Philip has a business organisation partner and a developer with in-depth technical product knowledge, I asked Philip to let them review the work so far.

Both his business concern partner and the programmer provided feedback. Philip used this feedback to optimize the user manual.

Action: Transport the draft version of the user transmission to anyone within your squad who might exist able to deliver feedback. Ask them to combine all feedback into one certificate before sending it back to you. This stimulates word of your team members and prevents disagreement at a later stage.

Step 11 Create the Images

Once the user transmission has been reviewed and optimized, the texts are more than or less definite. This means that whatever images can now be created and added to the content.

The reason to look until the texts are ready is that creating or editing images can be time-consuming. As images should support, supplant, or augment text, you want to wait to create them until the texts are terminal.

Images in user manuals may include illustrations, photos, screenshots, tables, diagrams and schematics.

There are many great tools that can help you create your images, such every bit:

Snagit or Adobe Photoshop for editing screenshots or photos
Solidworks Composer or Google Sketchup for creating line drawings
Lucidchart or Microsoft Visio for diagrams and schematics

Technical illustrations

I brash Philip not to utilize photos as a cheap alternative for illustrations. Often, photos are not as informative because they contain besides much data. Besides that, photos can make a user transmission look messy.

For that reason, Philip used Google Sketchup to create his illustrations.

Action: Create the images for your user manual.

If you desire to know more most creating images:

Using text, images or video
Creating IKEA-ish manuals

Snagit

Footstep 12 Final Check of the User Manual Template

Before we start making it expect nice and interpret the content, we want to be sure that the content is consummate.

In society to practice then, I asked Philip to employ a checklist.

Activity: l brand sure that your user manual complies with all relevant requirements from the IEC/IEEE 82079-1 by using this checklist.

Step 13 Design Your User Transmission Template

A well-designed manual contributes to a amend brand and user experience.

Yous tin suit the User Transmission Template in MS Word by calculation a company logo and adjust the font, colours et cetera, only that might accept limitations.

When you lot know how to work with Adobe Indesign, or are willing to acquire to work with it, this volition offering you much greater pattern possibilities.

I created this template in Indesign and asked Philip to adjust it to match his brand identity.

user manual template indesign

Activity: Adjust the User Manual Template to fit your brand identity, or download the InDesign user manual template and adjust it.

Stride fourteen DTP Works

DTP stands for Desktop Publishing and Wikipedia describes it as 'the creation of documents using folio layout skills on a personal computer primarily for impress'.

Philip at present has both the content of his user manual (Word file) and the user manual template (InDesign file). The content needs to be put into the InDesign template. This is called Desktop Publishing.

Action: place the content from your Give-and-take file into the Indesign template. If you decided not to utilize the InDesign template but stuck to the Word file, then you can skip this step.

Step 15 Interpret and Publish your User Manuals

Depending on the market in which you are going to sell your product, you might need to interpret the user manual.

Some general tips:

Look for a translator with similar experience. This could exist a translator who is experienced in translating technical content, with similar products or with translating user manuals.
If you demand to interpret to several languages, working with a translation agency might save you lots of time.
Inquire the translator or agency virtually their quality procedures and who is going to revise the text subsequently translation.
As you lot know your product best and who your audition is, it might be a proficient thought to provide the translator or agency a glossary or a list with the terminology that y'all desire to use.
Expect for a translator who can work directly in your Discussion or InDesign file or find an bureau that can do the DTP works as well. Alternatively, you can do this yourself, of course.

As Philip will sell his product in both the US and EU, he decided to work with an agency.

Action: Find a translator or agency that fits your needs and have your user manual translated.

In general, a user manual should be bachelor in a format that is easily accessible to the user. That can be printed, or used online or on-device.

Every bit a user wants information at the moment he/she needs it and thus does not think in channels, the all-time approach would be to provide the instructions omni-platform.

In the European union, for some product groups, it is still restricted to provide the user manual printed with the product.

Even so, as of April 2016, the instructions of many product groups may exist delivered in a dissimilar format rather than in print. There is ane exception, however.

Prophylactic information shall notwithstanding be delivered in paper class along with the product. Besides that, upon request from a consumer, a paper user manual should be fabricated available to the consumer.

Philip decided to the following:

He provides a printed total manual with the product, including the rubber instructions.
He created a separate quick start guide to be provided with the product equally well.
He placed a pdf version of the total manual online.
He will create an online-help department on his website with the HTML version of the user transmission. Here he tin add videos equally well. And past optimizing the HTML version for search engines he makes it easier for his user to discover information for his user

Conclusion

That'south all there is to information technology. That's how Philip created a compliant user transmission with help from the User Manuals Template and the other available tools that I provided.

The all-time part of all this is that you tin can go the same results as Philip did by post-obit this step-by-step procedure on how to create a user manual.

If yous institute this case study inspiring, I'd actually capeesh if you would share Philip's story on
Facebook or Twitter, or go out a comment below.